This is the most refined Splatoon has ever been! But that might be just about it, which is fine. Most of Splatoon 2 is here, a little more optimized, a little more content added, a lot more refined. The Splatlands are the best setting and hubworld yet, having a distinct charm that adds on to the one the series already has. The multiplayer portion is great, although hardly original at this point.

The single player campaign, however, is a little disappointing. The mission based structure worked really well for Octo Expansion, but was simply carried over without much thought, which leads to a disjointed feeling campaign that doesn't really make much sense world-building-wise. The missions themselves are also lacking in original content, only remixing parts that have been there in the story modes prior. There isn't really anything new here, to the point that the Octo Expansion had way more going for it in terms of innovation. The bosses are really lacking too, seemingly an afterthought to an already afterthought-y feeling experience (I'm explicitly excluding the Final Boss Fight here). Overall, I just had an okay time, but I don't even care to return for all the scrolls I missed.

I think the next entry in the franchise will have a lot to prove. The series up until now has been (successfully) polishing the foundation laid in the first game with each new iteration. Now, finally, it should be time for a completely new step.